Living Goddess

Elav jumalanna |

Director: Ishbel Whitaker

Country: Nepal, UK

Year: 2007

Length: 87'

Language: In English, English subtitles

As a modern day revolution ignites, the lives of three young girls who are worshipped as gods in the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal unfolds. This is the real Golden Child.
From the producers of David LaChapelle’s Oscar Shortlisted RIZE and with a remarkable soundtrack by the critically acclaimed Nitin Sawhney, Living Goddess begins as a sublime elegy to a private world of ritual, devotion and childish mischief. With unprecedented access to this mix of Tantric tradition of blood sacrifices, secret rituals and toy mobile phones we see the lives of these remarkable girls collide irreversibly with the modern world. Their story turns epic as an ancient prophecy unfolds. An out-of-touch and ruthless King who survived the notorious palace massacre of 2001 wrests power for himself as a Maoist led civil war rages in the mountains. Defying the King, ordinary people take to the streets demanding freedom, only to be confronted by the might of the King’s army. A year long, bloody revolution ensues. Caught in a whirlwind struggle for power, the story unfolds through the eyes of the child-gods – a worldview shaped by omens and portents. The filmmakers were allowed privileged access to the private rituals and daily life of this historic tradition witnessing the violent struggle for democracy slowly imposing itself on this ancient way of life.
This exceptional directorial debut by Ishbel Whitaker, and beautifully filmed by Marc Hawker is a compelling, intimate story of innocence and courage that is playful, spiritual and unnervingly contemporary.